Crisis Translation Training Challenges Arising from New Contexts of Translation

Focused on material design and self-reflective practices, this article discusses a Crisis Translation Training pitched at master-level translation and interpreting students, developed within the research activities carried out for the INTERACT International Crisis Translation Network. The course was designed to enable them to develop a broader skillset in support of multilingual crisis settings. The learning objectives underpinning the materials address training lacunae in enabling linguists to be involved in relief operations (Federici, 2016; O’Brien, 2016). The authors perceive the complementary skills as crucial in the development of language mediation services assisting linguists operating in such zones of liminality as are crisis settings. Multilingual communication in crisis includes professional forms of translation, signing, and interpreting, as well as forms of intercultural mediation, and social work (Drugan, 2017). Emergencies and prolonged crises have an impact on the communicative dynamics among international relief operators, local institutions, and crisis-affected populations. The authors developed training materials to prepare students to work in crisis settings by harnessing their language competences in crisis translation as a form of community translation (Taibi and Ozolins, 2016). Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities often need support in language combinations that rarely match commercially viable combinations (Federici and Cadwell, 2018; Shackleton, 2018). This article critically reviews non-language specific Crisis Translation Training, delivered in three iterations across two sites. Reporting on the first phases of the process of material design and enhancement, the article reflects on how issues in delivery, emerging findings regarding the authentic needs of mostly untrained translators, and different pathways of delivery shaped the re-definition of the initial learning objectives and pushed towards a translator trainer approach that would suit a range of new contexts of language mediation

Training citizen translators: Design and delivery of bespoke training on the fundamentals of translation for New Zealand Red Cross

Translators and interpreters have been shown to play an important role in supporting the activities of NGOs involved in crisis communication scenarios. However, there is little evidence of whether standardized training materials or technological assistance are required by or would be beneficial to quickly recruited ‘citizen translators’ working in these environments. This article will present a study of the design, delivery, and preliminary evaluation of a set of training materials developed for use in a citizen translation project run by New Zealand Red Cross (NZRC) with the support of the EU H2020-funded International Network on Crisis Translation (INTERACT). The article describes the training materials and discusses the epistemological and didactic issues that were faced in their design and delivery. Findings from the article will be of interest to those seeking to understand citizen translation and issues involved in working with an NGO on translator training

Recycled Pulsars Discovered at High Radio Frequency

We present the timing parameters of nine pulsars discovered in a survey of intermediate Galactic latitudes at 1400 MHz with the Parkes radio telescope. Eight of these pulsars possess small pulse periods and period derivatives thought to be indicative of ``recycling''. Six of the pulsars are in circular binary systems, including two with relatively massive white dwarf companions. We discuss the implications of these new systems for theories of binary formation and evolution. One long-period pulsar (J1410-7404) has a moderately weak magnetic field and an exceedingly narrow average pulse profile, similar to other recycled pulsars.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

From the zero-field metal-insulator transition in two dimensions to the quantum Hall transition: a percolation-effective-medium theory

Effective-medium theory is applied to the percolation description of the metal-insulator transition in two dimensions with emphasis on the continuous connection between the zero-magnetic-field transition and the quantum Hall transition. In this model the system consists of puddles connected via saddle points, and there is loss of quantum coherence inside the puddles. The effective conductance of the network is calculated using appropriate integration over the distribution of conductances, leading to a determination of the magnetic field dependence of the critical density. Excellent quantitative agreement is obtained with the experimental data, which allows an estimate of the puddle physical parameters

Diabetes reversal by inhibition of the low-molecular-weight tyrosine phosphatase.

Obesity-associated insulin resistance plays a central role in type 2 diabetes. As such, tyrosine phosphatases that dephosphorylate the insulin receptor (IR) are potential therapeutic targets. The low-molecular-weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMPTP) is a proposed IR phosphatase, yet its role in insulin signaling in vivo has not been defined. Here we show that global and liver-specific LMPTP deletion protects mice from high-fat diet-induced diabetes without affecting body weight. To examine the role of the catalytic activity of LMPTP, we developed a small-molecule inhibitor with a novel uncompetitive mechanism, a unique binding site at the opening of the catalytic pocket, and an exquisite selectivity over other phosphatases. This inhibitor is orally bioavailable, and it increases liver IR phosphorylation in vivo and reverses high-fat diet-induced diabetes. Our findings suggest that LMPTP is a key promoter of insulin resistance and that LMPTP inhibitors would be beneficial for treating type 2 diabetes

Evaluation of bone texture imaging parameters on panoramic radiographs of patients with Sheehan’s syndrome: a STROBE-compliant case-control study

Summary Sheehan’s syndrome (SHS) is a rare condition related to the risk of osteoporosis and evaluation of bone texture imaging features on panoramic radiographs would be suitable for this condition, which was the aim of the present study. Fractal dimension, lacunarity, and trabecular morphologic aspects were significantly altered in these patients. Introduction SHS is an important public health problem particularly in developing countries. It is characterized as postpartum hypopituitarism secondary to obstetric complications-related ischemic pituitary necrosis that shows significant systemic metabolic repercussions. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate bone texture parameters in digital panoramic radiographs of patients with SHS. Methods A case-control study was conducted with 30 SHS patients from an Endocrinology and Diabetology Service of reference in Brazil, and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. A custom computer program measured fractal dimension, lacunarity, and some morphologic features in the following mandibular regions of interest (50 × 50 pixels): below the mental foramen (F1), between the first and second molars (M1), and at the center of the mandibular ramus (R1). Results The fractal analysis showed a statistically significant difference between the studied groups in all regions of interest. The fractal dimension in F1 (p = 0.016), M1 (p = 0.043), and R1 (p = 0.028) was significantly lower in SHS group, as well as lacunarity in R1 (p = 0.008). Additionally, several morphologic features were statistically significant in the SHS group (p < 0.05). Conclusion Therefore, individuals with SHS showed altered imaging texture parameters on panoramic radiographs, which reflect a smaller spatial organization of the bone trabeculae and, possibly, a state of reduced mineral bone density

Concentration Dependence of Superconductivity and Order-Disorder Transition in the Hexagonal Rubidium Tungsten Bronze RbxWO3. Interfacial and bulk properties

We revisited the problem of the stability of the superconducting state in RbxWO3 and identified the main causes of the contradictory data previously published. We have shown that the ordering of the Rb vacancies in the nonstoichiometric compounds have a major detrimental effect on the superconducting temperature Tc.The order-disorder transition is first order only near x = 0.25, where it cannot be quenched effectively and Tc is reduced below 1K. We found that the high Tc's which were sometimes deduced from resistivity measurements, and attributed to compounds with .25 < x < .30, are to be ascribed to interfacial superconductivity which generates spectacular non-linear effects. We also clarified the effect of acid etching and set more precisely the low-rubidium-content boundary of the hexagonal phase.This work makes clear that Tc would increase continuously (from 2 K to 5.5 K) as we approach this boundary (x = 0.20), if no ordering would take place - as its is approximately the case in CsxWO3. This behaviour is reminiscent of the tetragonal tungsten bronze NaxWO3 and asks the same question : what mechanism is responsible for this large increase of Tc despite the considerable associated reduction of the electron density of state ? By reviewing the other available data on these bronzes we conclude that the theoretical models which are able to answer this question are probably those where the instability of the lattice plays a major role and, particularly, the model which call upon local structural excitations (LSE), associated with the missing alkali atoms.Comment: To be published in Physical Review

Autophagy proteins control goblet cell function by potentiating reactive oxygen species production

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102240/1/embj2013233-reviewer_comments.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102240/2/embj2013233-sup-0001.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102240/3/embj2013233.pd

High throughput mutagenesis for identification of residues regulating human prostacyclin (hIP) receptor

The human prostacyclin receptor (hIP receptor) is a seven-transmembrane G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that plays a critical role in vascular smooth muscle relaxation and platelet aggregation. hIP receptor dysfunction has been implicated in numerous cardiovascular abnormalities, including myocardial infarction, hypertension, thrombosis and atherosclerosis. Genomic sequencing has discovered several genetic variations in the PTGIR gene coding for hIP receptor, however, its structure-function relationship has not been sufficiently explored. Here we set out to investigate the applicability of high throughput random mutagenesis to study the structure-function relationship of hIP receptor. While chemical mutagenesis was not suitable to generate a mutagenesis library with sufficient coverage, our data demonstrate error-prone PCR (epPCR) mediated mutagenesis as a valuable method for the unbiased screening of residues regulating hIP receptor function and expression. Here we describe the generation and functional characterization of an epPCR derived mutagenesis library compromising >4000 mutants of the hIP receptor. We introduce next generation sequencing as a useful tool to validate the quality of mutagenesis libraries by providing information about the coverage, mutation rate and mutational bias. We identified 18 mutants of the hIP receptor that were expressed at the cell surface, but demonstrated impaired receptor function. A total of 38 non-synonymous mutations were identified within the coding region of the hIP receptor, mapping to 36 distinct residues, including several mutations previously reported to affect the signaling of the hIP receptor. Thus, our data demonstrates epPCR mediated random mutagenesis as a valuable and practical method to study the structurefunction relationship of GPCRs. © 2014 Bill et al

Host-Associated Bacteriophage Isolation and Preparation for Viral Metagenomics.

Prokaryotic viruses, or bacteriophages, are viruses that infect bacteria and archaea. These viruses have been known to associate with host systems for decades, yet only recently have their influence on the regulation of host-associated bacteria been appreciated. These studies have been conducted in many host systems, from the base of animal life in the Cnidarian phylum to mammals. These prokaryotic viruses are useful for regulating the number of bacteria in a host ecosystem and for regulating the strains of bacteria useful for the microbiome. These viruses are likely selected by the host to maintain bacterial populations. Viral metagenomics allows researchers to profile the communities of viruses associating with animal hosts, and importantly helps to determine the functional role these viruses play. Further, viral metagenomics show the sphere of viral involvement in gene flow and gene shuffling in an ever-changing host environment. The influence of prokaryotic viruses could, therefore, have a clear impact on host health